Basim Majhar, 45, is a guard at central Baghdad’s Al-Dahana school and he has to support his family of six with the meagre salary that he receives. One might argue that such is indeed the plight of many in this nation. However, Majhar’s case is special.
Life has burdened Majhar with four physically challenged children-three of them paralyzed and one with acute cardiac problems. His eldest son Haider(21) had his hip shattered in 1991 ( when the city of Kirkuk was attacked by Saddam Hussein to put down a rebellion) and has been paralyzed from the waist down since then; Majhar’s daughter Zainab (7) and son Abbas (11) accidentally fell from a rooftop and both have been paralyzed; the other son of Majhar’s was born with dextrocardia (i.e., with his heart on the right side of the chest).
Currently cramped in a small, dingy, windowless room at the Baghdad school ( in the Suk-al-Hanoon area), fate has indeed been cruel to Majhar and his family of six. The monthly earnings of Majhar ( $150) is not even enough for surgery for his children. In this scenario, he is left with little choice but to seek divine mercy. Majhar says,
I have surrendered myself to God’s mercy. I don’t know what to do. I have no home and my children are disabled. They can’t move and one day they will be on the streets if something happens to me.
Among Majhar’s four children, only Zainab is able to attend classes. The rest of the family are forced to remain confined in their little room until all classes for the day are over. Haider, Majhar’s eldest son, is visibly embarrassed at his plight. He has already undergone one hip-repairing surgery, but requires another operation, something his father just cannot afford. Crawling to a corner of the room, a moist-eyed Haider says,
I am getting older and I am a burden to my family, especially to my mother.
Zainab, Majhar’s daughter, has already started looking for diversion in her textbooks or the cartoons on the school television-in order to forget her own hardships. She says,
I see my classmates moving and getting out but I can’t move. This makes me very depressed and sad. I can’t do anything. I don’t know what is going to happen to us in the future. My parents are tired and we all are disabled.
Zainab also requires a surgery.
The Iraqi authorities, however, have turned a blind eye to Majhar and his family’s plight. According to Majhar, government officials have indeed given him assurances, but his family is yet to receive any actual aid. Majhar laments,
An Iraqi official heard about my suffering and allocated me some land, but a female employee from the Karrada municipality rejected it. She said I can’t be given such favours as I am not a political victim of the former regime.
The health ministry has also rejected Majhar’s pleas to let his children be sent overseas for treatment, a decision that has added to his frustrations. Majhar states,
I have tried again and again to talk to the ministry but in vain. I have no hope but to surrender to God’s mercy.
Source: yahoo
